Compelling Picture Books

Book cover for Out and About: A Tale of Giving

Out and About: A Tale of Giving by Liza M. Wiemer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


OUT AND ABOUT: A TALE OF GIVING words by award-winning author Liza Wiemer with art by Margeaux Lucas releases August 17, 2023. The text and art paint the all-important picture of thinking about others in this me-first world of ours.

When Daniel attempts to find out where his parents are going, what they’re doing, and what’s inside their mysterious boxes, Daniel imagines: Could it be new baseball and glove? A birthday cake? In his journey to find answers to his questions, he defines “out and about” for himself. Along the way, he discovers the true meaning of giving. This beautiful story shows the importance of kindness, caring for others, and giving to others before self. In this time of needing something in return, Daniel’s family acts in anonymous shadows – not needing even a thank you.

I was hooked right from the first page. Parents, teachers, and children will keep this one on the “Read It AGAIN” pile.

How the Sea Came to Be: by Jennifer Berne

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

HOW THE SEA CAME TO BE: AND ALL THE CREATURES IN IT, masterfully written by Jennifer Berne and beautifully illustrated by Amanda Hall, is a lyrical read-aloud that parents and teachers do not want to miss. This 56-page picture book published by W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, is a perfect introduction to geology, oceanography, and marine biology for ages 6 to 10. Berne’s ballad-style informational nonfiction tells the amazing story of the ocean’s evolution and its biodiversity today. It absolutely sings.

Happy 2023! This year is set up to be special because we now have a Stef Wade picture book for kids who find it hard to wait. Coincidentally, the book birthday of EVERY DAY’S A HOLIDAY: WINNIE’S BIRTHDAY COUNTDOWN, lands on January 3, 2023, which is also Women Rock Day. Each spread in this book reminds me of how much picture books rock – and especially those written by Stef Wade. This beautiful fast-paced story illustrated by Husna Aghniya, invites young readers to focus on fascinating foods, people, places, and ideas from popcorn to puppies. Five-year old Winnie faces the daunting 362-day wait until her next birthday. You will wear a knowing smile if you’ve ever heard, “How many days ‘til my birthday?” Get ready to celebrate a wide variety special days when your child or students want to put on their party hats every day! The engaging text and illustrations invite readers to shift their thoughts from self to others as they face a potentially long wait for their own special day.

EVERY DAY’S A HOLIDAY is set to be a contemporary classic that will appeal to children and adults alike. Back matter presents a list of festivities that are enjoyed all over the world, no matter the day.

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Inspirational, Compelling, and Heartfelt

Climb On book cover

Climb On! Celebrate this compelling picture book by the award-winning duo of Baptiste Paul and Jacqueline Alcantra, published by North South Books. What isn’t there to love about encouraging, persistence, and outdoors adventure?

In CLIMB ON! a young girl reminds her father of their plans to go on a hike. Packing snacks, courage, enthusiasm, and the girl’s excitement, they embark on a spectacular climb. In spite of the island’s heat and obstacles, the girl eagerly takes on challenges and they climb past pesky insects, delightful animals, and lush greenery. It is fun to see the role reversal of the young girl’s energetic, engaging encouragement that moves her father. The spot-on to language conveys how the girl’s inner child speaks and thinks, making this young relatable character and her adventures encouraging and entertaining.

During their climb, they speak in both Saint Lucian Creole and English, reminding readers of the setting. Learning about and exploring new places is just one of the things I loved about Climb On!

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Emotional Impact in Picture Books

THEY CALL ME RIVER by Maciek Albrecht (C) 2021 published by Cameron Kids Abrams 

Jacket cover description: In this beautiful and moving tribute, a river is born and carried along. It plays, sparkles, grows, moves. It rushes, falls, and is still. It carries. When a river reaches the sea, it rises up into the sky, rains down, and begins again.

I plotted out my own emotional journey through the story. From contentment to storms and finding the flow again, this book packs an emotional punch showing that a river is “not unlike life.” Albrecht uses a parallel structure with the river as a metaphor for the journey in life. Technically, the text is about the water cycle. “I begin as rain.”  The ending circles back with “And then, drop by drop, I return to the sky. And I begin again.” The artwork shows human life birth to death alongside water from river to the sea. The colors add to the beauty of this story. The vital idea is life flows with ups and downs. It is important to preserve family and the connections saved through support of each other. 

THE RHINO SUIT by Colton Jackson (C) 2022 published by Sounds True, Inc. 

Jacket cover description: When one little girl sees litter in the streets, an animal without shelter, and the pain of a parent, the weight of the world feels too much to bear. She feels everything do deeply, it makes her want to hide. “A timeless story about letting all life in.”

This book is identified by the Library of Congress as juvenile fiction with the subjects / themes of sensitivity, mindfulness, empathy, and conduct of life. Its sparse text and whimsical illustrations – add to the heartfelt story of an unnamed girl who begins overwhelmed by problems she sees and experiences. She is vulnerable from the first spread through to her creative solution. The big reveal of her solution lands on pages 18-19. From there, she tries it out but soon realizes that it too, presents problems. She continues to be vulnerable as she opens her heart to take action by caring for herself and others. 

THE 1619 PROJECT: BORN ON THE WATER by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renee Watson, illustrated by Nikkolas Smith (c) 2021 by Kokila an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

Jacket cover description: With lyrical verse, this powerful picture book from the 1619 Project provides a pathway for readers of all ages to reflect on the origins of American identity by chronicling the consequences of slavery and the history of Black resistance in the United States.

As an adult reader, I entered into this picture book feeling as blue as the cover image. I recognize that class assignments are all to often received by children who have little background in family and ancestral history. The family depicted in BORN ON THE WATER learned. “Come, let me tell you our beginning. Let me tell you where we’re from.” Subheadings lead to many beautiful lines of text. (1) They Had a Language, (2)Their Hands Had a Knowing, (3) And They Danced, (4) Stolen, (5) The White Lion, (6) Point Comfort, (7) Tobacco Fields, (8) How to Make a Home, (9) The Tuckers of Tidewater, Virginia (10) William Tucker, (11) Resist, (12) Legacy, and (13) Pride. The emotional impact is heavy and heartfelt. “Ours is no immigration story.” I left the last page still blue.

DRAGONFLY by Aimee Bissonette, illustrated by Catherine Pearson, published by Albert Whitman & Company (c) 2020

Library of Congress Catalogue Nonfiction description: We can fly straight up or down, backwards or forwards, stop and hover, make hairpin turns – at top speed or in slow motion. And we’ve been on Earth for around 300 million years.

The facts presented are written in such a way that inspires the reader to want to learn more. Dragonflies start out as nymphs in a watery world where they live in constant jeopardy. After one to three years when they crawl out of the water and fly into the air, they live a beautiful but short life. I’m certain readers will be inspired to observe and study dragonflies.

WHERE BUTTERFLIES FILL THE SKY: A Story of Immigration, Family, and Finding Home by Zahra Marwan, published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books (c) 2022

Jacket cover description: When Baba and Mama tell Zahra that their family is no longer welcome in the only place she’s ever known, and they must say goodbye, Zahra wonders if she will ever feel at home again. And what about the wonderful people she will leave behind?

The text and illustrations pull at my heartstrings. The tension of an unwanted and hard-to-understand move from Kuwait builds spread after spread. “I say my goodbyes without knowing why and travel far, far away to a new place where each day feels like a year. Where no one speaks like me. Are my ancestors still watching?” I love the connection of the 100 butterflies in the skies of their homeland to the 100 hot air balloons in their new home’s New Mexico skies. Butterflies in the NM sky float as a metaphor for messages of love from family. Children who experience a move may see that a new place can become home.

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